Sikh Plot Thwarted By U.s.

May 14, 1985|Chicago Tribune

WASHINGTON — Using the U.S. as a training ground for terrorists, a group of Indian Sikhs planned to assassinate Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi of India and another high Indian official during visits to the U.S., FBI Director William Webster disclosed Monday.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation said it had thwarted the conspiracy with the help of an undercover operative, described as a former U.S. Navy commando, who had been recruited to train the group.

In India, authorities reported more than 2,000 arrests in connection with a wave of terrorist bombings blamed on Sikh extremists. New Delhi shops and businesses were closed by a general strike called by the political opposition to protest what it termed the government`s failure to deal with the Sikh threat, and Gandhi told Parliament his administration would soon strengthen anti-terrorist laws.

Three Sikhs are currently facing trial in India in connection with the assassination last October of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Rajiv`s mother. They were said to have been motivated by revenge for an Indian government assault on the Golden Temple in Amritsar, seat of the Sikh religion.

The Sikh assassination plot in the U.S. and the group`s plans for guerrilla-type operations against the Indian government were uncovered in an investigation by FBI officials in New York, Newark, New Orleans and Birmingham, Ala., the bureau announced.

``Once again the FBI has been successful in detecting and interdicting a terrorist action before it was carried out and resulted in death, injury or property damage,`` said Webster. ``But we won`t allow our successes to blind us to the potential for terrorist activity in this country.``

The FBI reported seven individuals had been charged with conspiracy to assassinate a foreign official, preparation of a military expedition against India and other charges.

In New Delhi, police said today they had uncovered enough explosives and equipment to make hundreds of bombs at the home of a Sikh lawyer arrested in connection with terrorist blasts that killed at least 85 people.

Forty-four pounds of raw explosives, incriminating documents, literature on bomb-making, tools and bomb parts were recovered Monday from the home of Kartar Singh Narang, a senior investigating officer said.

The Indian Express newspaper, reporting on the discovery, quoted a police officer as saying: ``This kind of ammunition in the hands of terrorists could have made a Beirut out of Delhi.`` It did not identify the officer.